Mesa Coyoacan
Mesa Coyoacan
372 Graham Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.782.8171
Cuisine: Mexican
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $$$
Hours: Mon-Fri 5pm-1am; Sat-Sun 12pm-1am
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Graham Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
We say:
A traditional Mexican restaurant from chef Ivan Garcia, original menu designer for Barrio Chino and most recently chef de cuisine at Mercadito. There’s nothing avant-garde about the menu, most of which will seem familiar at first glance–his “grandma’s recipes,” as Garcia put it, down to house-made tortillas–albeit with modern touches such as Berkshire pork in the carnitas tacos and grass fed beef for the carne asada. Look for tacos (3 for $9), a sampling of ceviches, sopas, and tamales, as well as entrees, including enchiladas de mole, pork-and-fruit-stuffed poblanos topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds, and spiced lamb in chile ancho, chile guajillo, and avocado leaves steamed in a banana leaf, none over $15. Those price points and the warm interior (Chino-style wood tables for up to 14; salvaged 1940s wallpaper; and actual family photos hovering over the dining space like a glowering abuelita) you can expect Coyoacan to finally turn the former Pampa Grill space in Graham Ave’s “Fish Tank” building into the destination those architects clearly meant it to be.
Metromix says:
TAGS: Brunch (Weekends), Graham, Mexican, Moderately Priced, Open Late, Recommended, Restaurants, ★★★★ GreatIvan Garcia, who for two years was Patricio Sandoval’s chef de cuisine at Mercedito, has flown the coop to open his first restaurant, in Williamsburg. It’s Mexican, natch, but unlike Sandoval, whose vividly flavored dishes tend to skew modern, Garcia is keeping his menu strictly traditional, with recipes handed down by his grandmother. (The restaurant’s name refers to the Mexican town where he was born.) La comida? Ceviche (octopus, shrimp, scallops), plus an array of tacos with a healthier twist—steak tacos are prepared al pastor (spit-grilled), while chile-laced fish tacos are grilled, not fried. Garcia is also serving traditional mixiotes—meats, such as lamb, cooked in banana leaves, which he pairs with cactus salad.
